in the reign of Henry II., was
the moated and fortified abode of the family of that name, and their
intermarriages with the De Berminghams, &c., connected them with our
local history in many ways. Though the family, according to Dugdale and
others, had a chapel of their own, the hamlet appertained to the parish
of Aston, to the mother church of which one Henry de Erdington added an
isle, and the family arms long appeared in the heraldic tracery of its
windows. Erdington Church (St. Barnabas) was built in 1823, as a chapel
of ease to Aston, and it was not until 1858 that the district was formed
into a separate and distinct ecclesiastical parish, the vicar of Aston
being the patron of the living. In addition to the chapel at Oscott, the
Catholics have here one of the most handsome places of worship in the
district, erected in 1850 at a cost of over L20,000, a Monastery, &c.,
being connected therewith. Erdington, which has doubled its population
within the last twenty years, has its Public Hall and Literary
Institute, erected in 1864, Police Station, Post Office, and several
chapels, in addition to the almshouses and orphanage, erected by Sir
Josiah Mason, noticed in another part of this work. See also
"_Population Tables_," &c.

~Estate Agents.~--For the purposes of general business, Kelly's
Directory will be found the best reference. The office for the Calthorpe
estate is at 65 Hagley Road; for the William Dudley Trust estates, at
Imperial Chambers B, Colmore Row; for the Great Western Railway
properties at 103, Great Charles Street; for the Heathfield Estate in
Heathfield Road, Handsworth; for the Horton (Isaac) properties at 41,
Colmore Row; Sir Joseph Mason's estate at the Orphanage, Erdington.

~Exchange.~--Corner of Stephenson Place and New Street, having a
frontage of 64 feet to the latter, and 186 feet to the former. The
foundation stone was laid January 2, 1863, the architect being Mr.
Edward Holmes, and the building was opened January 2, 1865, the original
cost being a little under L20,000. It has since been enlarged (1876-78)
to nearly twice the original size, under the direction of Mr. J.A.
Chatwin. The property and speculation of a private company, it was
(December 2, 1880) incorporated, under the Joint Stock Companies' Act,
and returns a fair dividend on the capital expended. In addition to the
Exchange and Chamber of Commerce proper, with the usual secretarial and
committee rooms appertaining thereto, refr